LLL's strep saga continues...

[BikeBookBread]

Last week I posted that LLL was again complaining of a sore throat and stomach pain. Well I decided to have her checked out today. Yep. Positive for strep AGAIN. I hate this, and I wasn't going to do it a third time, but she's back on antibiotics - this time it's Augmentin. DH was not happy that she was put back on antibiotics, but I don't know that we have a choice at this point. This time I bought a very good probiotic chewable (so I could get her to take it) and will be watching her bathroom habits very carefully so we don't have a constipation/diarrhea repeat like the last two times.

 

Are some people more susceptible to strep? Are there some strains of strep that are harder to beat?

 

I'm more posting out of frustration than anything...

[ma23peas]

Our case is most likely not like yours...our daughter had 11 documented cases of strep even AFTER having her tonsils removed..the ONLY medicine that finally killed it (we tried Augmentin, Amoxicillin, Zithromax, Clindamycin, AND Rocephin shots!!) was a simple shot of Penicillin....I literally had to DEMAND it at an ER...they kept telling me there was no way she could have strep for 12 months...she must be a carrier..specialists at Vanderbilt even told us to see a psychiatrist because our daughter was imagining her symptoms..her fever never ran above 101..so they told us a fever below 102 was clinically insignificant...don't get me started..my daughter lost 31 pounds in 12 months (she was 10 years old!!!) and got down to 48 pounds! Her file at her pediatricians office had been less than 4-5 pages...never had an ear infection in her life and only had 2 antibiotics in her lifetime before we went through this heck!

 

The strep attacked her joints/nerves and the poor child had debilitating, screaming pain attacks...(all in her head of course..sorry, still very bitter) since that penicillin shot, she's not had ONE case of strep...she's put on 30 pounds and she's back to a healthy 11 year old..she went from barely being able to walk 10 feet to dancing 2 hours in Irish hardshoe!

 

Fight the fight, praying for you!

Tara

[BikeBookBread]

Our case is most likely not like yours...our daughter had 11 documented cases of strep even AFTER having her tonsils removed..the ONLY medicine that finally killed it (we tried Augmentin, Amoxicillin, Zithromax, Clindamycin, AND Rocephin shots!!) was a simple shot of Penicillin....I literally had to DEMAND it at an ER...they kept telling me there was no way she could have strep for 12 months...she must be a carrier..specialists at Vanderbilt even told us to see a psychiatrist because our daughter was imagining her symptoms..her fever never ran above 101..so they told us a fever below 102 was clinically insignificant...don't get me started..my daughter lost 31 pounds in 12 months (she was 10 years old!!!) and got down to 48 pounds! Her file at her pediatricians office had been less than 4-5 pages...never had an ear infection in her life and only had 2 antibiotics in her lifetime before we went through this heck!

 

The strep attacked her joints/nerves and the poor child had debilitating, screaming pain attacks...(all in her head of course..sorry, still very bitter) since that penicillin shot, she's not had ONE case of strep...she's put on 30 pounds and she's back to a healthy 11 year old..she went from barely being able to walk 10 feet to dancing 2 hours in Irish hardshoe!

 

Fight the fight, praying for you!

Tara

 

THIS IS FRIGHTENING! LLL has never had a fever about 101 with any of these three occurrences!! This doctor seems to be really aware though. She's the first one we have seen that has even breathed ENT specialist.

 

I'm so glad to hear your DD recovered!

[Ottakee]

I would make sure that they culture her again about 5 days after she finishes the meds to make sure the strep is GONE, not just reduced.

[BikeBookBread]

I would make sure that they culture her again about 5 days after she finishes the meds to make sure the strep is GONE, not just reduced.

 

Good plan. I didn't think of that.

[MamaAkins]

Are you replacing her toothbrush after 48 hours on the antibiotic? Otherwise, is it possible that someone in your family is a strep carrier?

 

Sorry she's sick again. Have you looked at getting her tonsils removed? One of my children was very susceptible to strep (it was the only sickness she ever got). Once we got her tonsils out, she has never had strep again.

[Snowfall]

Two things come to mind for me. The first is that you could try xylitol to see if that helps. It's a sugar alcohol that makes it difficult for bacteria to live in the mouth, nose and throat. It's actually good for your teeth, too. You can get it in a nasal spray. The other thing is an oral probiotic called Salivarius K12. If you google either of those with strep throat, you should find some information to see if you're interested. If it were my daughter, I'd try both. I hope your DD gets well soon. It's so hard when they're sick!

[Denisemomof4]

Our case is most likely not like yours...our daughter had 11 documented cases of strep even AFTER having her tonsils removed..the ONLY medicine that finally killed it (we tried Augmentin, Amoxicillin, Zithromax, Clindamycin, AND Rocephin shots!!) was a simple shot of Penicillin....I literally had to DEMAND it at an ER...they kept telling me there was no way she could have strep for 12 months...she must be a carrier..specialists at Vanderbilt even told us to see a psychiatrist because our daughter was imagining her symptoms..her fever never ran above 101..so they told us a fever below 102 was clinically insignificant...don't get me started..my daughter lost 31 pounds in 12 months (she was 10 years old!!!) and got down to 48 pounds! Her file at her pediatricians office had been less than 4-5 pages...never had an ear infection in her life and only had 2 antibiotics in her lifetime before we went through this heck!

 

The strep attacked her joints/nerves and the poor child had debilitating, screaming pain attacks...(all in her head of course..sorry, still very bitter) since that penicillin shot, she's not had ONE case of strep...she's put on 30 pounds and she's back to a healthy 11 year old..she went from barely being able to walk 10 feet to dancing 2 hours in Irish hardshoe!

 

Fight the fight, praying for you!

Tara

 

WOW!!!! I'm SO SORRY for you and your daughter! Must have been SO frightening!!!

[Denisemomof4]

THIS IS FRIGHTENING! LLL has never had a fever about 101 with any of these three occurrences!! This doctor seems to be really aware though. She's the first one we have seen that has even breathed ENT specialist.

 

I'm so glad to hear your DD recovered!

 

I was going to suggest a second opinion. I hope this will be the LAST bout!

[truebluexf]

Have you tried letting it run its course without antibiotics? Even mainstream medical sites like WebMD admit that strep symptoms will go away in about the same amount of time with or without antibiotics, and that antibiotics are really just to prevent the rare scarlet fever and such. Just a thought. If her body can beat it on its own, it's less likely to come back so quickly. (I should add the previous poster's daughter doesn't seem to fall in this category, it sounds like she had some kind of serious infection. Don't want to sound like I'm discounting her experience!!! That's awful!)

[BikeBookBread]

Have you tried letting it run its course without antibiotics? Even mainstream medical sites like WebMD admit that strep symptoms will go away in about the same amount of time with or without antibiotics, and that antibiotics are really just to prevent the rare scarlet fever and such. Just a thought. If her body can beat it on its own, it's less likely to come back so quickly.

 

How long does "run its course" mean? She has been off of the last course of antibiotics almost 3 weeks. I think her little body is pretty worn out at this point...from the move across the country (7 day drive, 21 days in hotels, bad "road" food). Now that we are in our home she's eating well, but looking at her eyes, I can tell she is exhausted. I don't think her constitution is up to fighting it herself.

[In The Great White North]

Have you tried letting it run its course without antibiotics? Even mainstream medical sites like WebMD admit that strep symptoms will go away in about the same amount of time with or without antibiotics, and that antibiotics are really just to prevent the rare scarlet fever and such.

 

The only reason the "rare scarlet fever and such" is rare is because of the antibiotics. Before penicillin, scarlet fever and rheumatic fever were endemic, and they still are in the developing world where antibiotics aren't as readily available.

 

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4709

 

My mom had it. She isn't even sure when she had it, so it wasn't like she was in the hospital or anything. In high school, she was always tired and out of breath. She had her first heart operation (to cut open the scar tissue on her mitral valve) from the rheumatic fever before she was 26. At 33, the doctors did not think she would survive labor and delivery, so we were induced six weeks early. In her mid thirties, she could barely walk up a flight of stairs. She had to have open heart surgery for a valve replacement twice later in life. She had to get a shot of penicillin every month, til she became allergic to it and had to switch to a different antibiotic, til the day she died.

 

Fight the strep with antibiotics every chance you get - the alternatives are just not worth the risk.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm so sorry, Stephanie. I can relate to the frustration with illness that keeps coming back. I don't have strep but I'm finishing up week five of antibiotics (I'm up to Biaxin now) for infections that are now in my lungs. . . One more week to go! (Hopefully.)

[littlebug42]

Have you tried letting it run its course without antibiotics? Even mainstream medical sites like WebMD admit that strep symptoms will go away in about the same amount of time with or without antibiotics, and that antibiotics are really just to prevent the rare scarlet fever and such. Just a thought. If her body can beat it on its own, it's less likely to come back so quickly. (I should add the previous poster's daughter doesn't seem to fall in this category, it sounds like she had some kind of serious infection. Don't want to sound like I'm discounting her experience!!! That's awful!)

 

 

I would really not recommend this. I have a nephew with permanent damage caused by an undiagnosed strep infection. He did not have persistent symptoms. I would not try to let it go on its own. Strep is dangerous. I would probably consider the penicillin shot though.

[Sunflower]

I know it sounds crazy but when I was in high school 3 members of our family kept coming down with strep. It was frustrating and finally our Dr. called in a consultant. The consultant asked if we had any pets. We did, a cairn terrier dog. The consultant tested the dog and it was discovered our dog was the carrier for strep. They treated him and the rounds of strep stopped. My mom still reminds me that if anyone is passing strep around their family "check the dog". I don't know if this is applicable in your case but it may help someone.

[In The Great White North]

I know it sounds crazy but when I was in high school 3 members of our family kept coming down with strep. It was frustrating and finally our Dr. called in a consultant. The consultant asked if we had any pets. We did, a cairn terrier dog. The consultant tested the dog and it was discovered our dog was the carrier for strep. They treated him and the rounds of strep stopped. My mom still reminds me that if anyone is passing strep around their family "check the dog". I don't know if this is applicable in your case but it may help someone.

 

I've known families with this also. They had to treat all the people and all the pets at the same time to finally wipe it out.

[Only me]

This happened with my daughter. After several months of repeated strep the doctor tested our whole family. My son tested positive even though he had no symptoms. He was a carrier. He had a course of antibiotics and dd never got strep again.

[UmA]

We've all tested positive for strep in our family of 6 except dh over the past 6 months, one mistake we kept making was to get re tested for strep as soon as our antibiotics finished - of course they came back negative as the antibiotics were still in our system. Recently I decided to only go in 3 weeks after antibiotic treatment, and only one child came back positive - we figured she was the carrrier as she had no symptoms and she was given a carrier's treatment schedule of antibiotics. So far so good.

 

And yes we wondered about our pet: a cat, but after asking the local veterinary college, decided it was not impossible, but highly unlikely.

[KidsHappen]

Yes, some people are more subseptible and there are different strains. We have two people in the family that get strep several times a year and two other ones that never ever get it. The rest get it sometimes and not others.

 

My doctor is pretty cautious about the use of anti-biotics and supports a wait and see approach if that is what the patient wants. He said that scarlet fever is not really much more of a concern that strep itself. Basically is is strep with a fever and rash and it doesn't really have much impact on severity of case or recovery time. We have had a few cases here and it made no noticable difference. So if the patient isn't in a lot of pain he is okay with giving it a week or so to see if it resolves on its own. The only real reasons to treat with anti-biotics is in case of PANDAS or RA as they are a much bigger concern but much rarer.

 

We have had cases were most of the people in the house had strep and some took anti-biotics while others did not and everyone recovered at about the same time. It is very difficult to manage strep in a large family when all patients do not want anti-biotic treatment because they can give the disease back to the people who got rid of it via anti-biotics. We have also had cases where not everyone had it but we were all treated because it kept coming back.

 

Also, my doctor told us that if you have had anti-biotics in the last month the the test won't necessarily be accurate. If it is a strong strain that wasn't irradicated by the first anti-biotic but the test is not accurate because of the anti-biotic it could be a full month before you know that the first med didn't work and needs to be treated again.

 

This is one of those situations where it really is hard to make the right call for everyone across the board. The most cautious approach is to treat with anti-biotics but that can also lead to drug resistant bacteria which is becoming a real problem in this country. That is what makes this disease such a pain because it is incredibly common and very contagious and not everyone agrees on the best course of action for treating it.

[tinag]

My 10yo ds would get strep (and sinus infections) several times a year until last year. I gave him 2000 IU of vitamin D3 everyday and he wasn't sick once last year.

[JFSinIL]

When my twins were small and kept getting strep over and over our pediatrician told me to Lysol every toy, the furniture - everything! He said if someone with strep spat on a letter and mailed it across the country the person opening the letter could get sick - the strep can live that long on stuff.

 

So hubby and I uber-cleaned the house. It worked.

 

A couple years later strep started AGAIN despite the cleaning....a friend who we visited often let slip that her oldest girl , who NEVER herself got sick, was a "carrier" as their doctor put it, with tonsils full of strep. Yet SHE never got sick, so they never treated her. We stopped visiting with them and our kids stopped getting sick!

 

A few years later one of the twins started getting repeated strep attacks AGAIN (once with the scarlet fever rash!!!) and ended up having his tonsils, impacted with the stuff, taken out.

 

Now all a kid has to do is complain ONCE about a sore throat and I get the flash light, take a peek, and call the doctor. 90% of the time if I see spots it is strep. But it is far less often now that they are older teens!

 

I got strep once, in my 40's , during a family trip to Yellowstone. Hurt worse than when i had my tonsils out as a kid! All I remember of the trip is buffaloes, geysers and PAIN!

 

I hate strep!!!!

Edited July 31, 2010 by JFSinIL

[Matryoshka]

Whenever anyone in the family gets strep, I get everyone tested. My dh is often positive even though he has NO symptoms. Someone might be harboring it and passing it back around. (My dh also will test negative normally, so he is not a persistent carrier). Other members of my family have also been found to have it with no symptoms at various times. Test everyone (and apparently the dog too, based on a PP's comments :)). I even get everyone tested just if we've been known to be exposed (by friend's kids, for example).

 

We normally don't get strep here, but we had one winter where it just kept going around and around. I also had a friend who got rheumatic fever at 18, spent a year in bed and has permanent damage, so I don't mess with strep.

[Lisa in Jax]

I would make sure that they culture her again about 5 days after she finishes the meds to make sure the strep is GONE, not just reduced.

 

I agree with Ottakee -- be sure to test again. If she still has strep, they can run a test on the culture to see exactly which antibiotic will kill it, called a culture for antibiotic sensitivity. IMHO, the doc should have done this when she had a positive strep test after being treated with antibiotics. If he didn't already so, be sure to insist that they test for sensitivity if she is still strep positive after the Augmentin.

 

You probably already know this, but you shouldn't give the probiotic within 2-3 hours of the antibiotic, or you're wasting your money. The antibiotic will kill the probiotic, too, if they're taking too close together. Also, it's helpful to continue the probiotic for a few weeks after she stops the antibiotics.

 

HIH,

 

Lisa

Edited July 31, 2010 by Lisa in Jax

[Kim in Appalachia]

the first time she had it you can let it go for a while and see if it goes away on its own, but if it last over a week, or you are on a second bout you need antibiotics.

 

Sorry you are going though this. I hope this round of antibiotics does it.

[Karen in CO]

My ds had scarlet fever at 2 because of strep (treated by IV penicillin). Our HMO was terrible. He had strep 7 times that year. When I got a better job and better insurance, the first doctor I went to referred him to an ENT that wanted his tonsils out. He hasn't had strep since. Pursue the ENT to get a better opinion (not just a second opinion) and for someone with recurring strep like this always get the second culture to make sure you are killing it. Our good doc suggested that the strep was not being completely knocked out each time so it continued to return. And please don't ever let it run its course. Recurring strep is bad, but not as bad as the alternatives.

[HollyDay]

This happened to a dear IRL gf last year. They would finally get her dd off the antibiotic and 2 weeks later, the school nurse would call to come to get her. They finally tested everyone in the family. Yes, one member tested positive but did not have a fever. So, entire family was put on antibiotics. Entire family was retested and some were put back on antibiotics. All toothbrushes were pitched very often. Entire house was cleaned with lysol or some equivalent, phones and computers were sprayed with lysol throughout the day. Dishwasher was run on sanitize every time. Bedding was washed every other day. It was exhausting for my df. It took 3 months of antibiotics to get everyone clear. They stayed on pro-biotics a full year.

[BikeBookBread]

This happened to a dear IRL gf last year. They would finally get her dd off the antibiotic and 2 weeks later, the school nurse would call to come to get her. They finally tested everyone in the family. Yes, one member tested positive but did not have a fever. So, entire family was put on antibiotics. Entire family was retested and some were put back on antibiotics. All toothbrushes were pitched very often. Entire house was cleaned with lysol or some equivalent, phones and computers were sprayed with lysol throughout the day. Dishwasher was run on sanitize every time. Bedding was washed every other day. It was exhausting for my df. It took 3 months of antibiotics to get everyone clear. They stayed on pro-biotics a full year.

 

:blink: :eek: :willy_nilly:

 

I truly hope this is not the case.

[asta]

I had some ungodly number of separate, documented cases of strep between the ages of 12-14. Then I got scarlet fever. Then rheumatic fever. The only thing that stopped it was huge, IM does of Penicillin every day for a week.

 

I remember it because I had an ancient pediatrician who had those old glass and stainless hypodermic needles. Also, because I missed almost my entire first semester of high school.

 

When I was finally well enough for a tonsillectomy, the docs discovered that not only were my tonsils "little strep producing factories", so was the tissue surrounding my tonsils. I now look like I have gills in the back of my throat, I am missing so much tissue.

 

No one in my house even got the sniffles - it was all me. No bedding was boiled, nothing was scrubbed clean. It was just a bacterial infection running amok in *my* body. If my mom had "let it run its course" I'd be dead.

 

Oh, and though I had a mild reaction to penicillin prior to getting those huge doses, I am now considered deathly allergic to it (by pinprick test). Go figure on that one.

 

Haven't had strep since. :001_smile:

 

 

asta

[DaffodilDreams]

My dd had multiple bouts of strep in a short period of time a couple of years ago. The ped finally told me and my husband to go get checked even though we felt fine. Turns out I tested positive as well. More than likely we were passing the germs back and forth. With both of us on antibiotics, she was finally able to get well.

 

Another simple thing that I would suggest is to throw out all the toothbrushes in the house and buy at least two more for everyone. One set for everyone to use while your child is sick, and the second set for after the all-clear is given.

 

The probiotic was a good idea. We had to start giving those to dd with every round of antibiotics several years ago. They really help.

Edited August 2, 2010 by kimmie38017

[momof2girls]

I know this sounds crazy, but have you tried honey? I read an article a while back (2007 I think) in Old Schoolhouse magazine about the NIH doing studies on honey and that in the process they discovered it kills strep. It does work miracles. I had a horrible creeping crud type fungus that the doctors prescribed several medicines for including antibiotics, antifungals, and various other ointments, but nothing worked and in fact it kept spreading. Finally, it went from just one finger to ky whole hand. I decided to put honey on it overnight and after twice a day treatments a couple days later it was gone. I swear honey works miracles and if nothing else it should at least sooth a sore throat.

 

Good luck!

 

Karen

[ChristusG]

Has she had a Rocephin shot? My doctor said that's the "big" antibiotic that they use to knock things out.

[BikeBookBread]

Has she had a Rocephin shot? My doctor said that's the "big" antibiotic that they use to knock things out.

 

Yep - 4 weeks ago in the ER. That was round 2.

 

I know this sounds crazy, but have you tried honey? I read an article a while back (2007 I think) in Old Schoolhouse magazine about the NIH doing studies on honey and that in the process they discovered it kills strep. It does work miracles. I had a horrible creeping crud type fungus that the doctors prescribed several medicines for including antibiotics, antifungals, and various other ointments, but nothing worked and in fact it kept spreading. Finally, it went from just one finger to ky whole hand. I decided to put honey on it overnight and after twice a day treatments a couple days later it was gone. I swear honey works miracles and if nothing else it should at least sooth a sore throat.

 

Good luck!

 

Karen

 

I was at the pharmacy yesterday asking about soothing her horrid diarrhea (arghhhh) and the pharmacist, who was so kind, suggested mixing apple cider vinegar and honey 1:1 and trying to get her to drink it. I'm not sure I could do this, but does any one have any suggestions on how to disguise this? I know it would help.

[asta]

Peppermint is the most powerful "masking agent" used in pharmacy.

 

 

a

[FaithManor]

I can't recommend letting it run its course. If we had allowed that, DS would be an invalid waiting to get strong enough for surgery to replace a heart valve. Strep is one of those things that does regularly morph into scariness without antibiotics. This is being said by someone who otherwise does not allow her children to take antibiotics.

 

Do some research on elderberry extract. You'll need to see if it is known to interact with antibiotics. If not, I highly recommend you give it to her. You can get it in a chewable form, Sambucol, and its quite pleasant - a cross in flavors between raspberry, blueberry, and black berry but slightly tart. It is a huge immune booster. When a resistent strain of whooping cough went through here two years ago (amongst adults because the vax wears off and adults can easily get the new strain because they have no immunity), the doctors couldn't cure it. My mom nearly broke a rib coughing, docs didn't have a clue what to do. I put her on a regimen of elderberry extract, olive leaf, and oregano oil (very powerful combo) plus probiotics. She kicked it in three days after four weeks of misery. But, to protect your daughter's heart and kidneys, I would absolutely keep her on the meds. If your research shows that she can't have the extracts while taking the meds, keep her on the probiotics and just as soon as the meds run out, put her on the supplements. Also, make sure she is drinking a higher than usual amount of water in order to help her flush the weakened bacterial cells from her body. Her lymph system is probably very tired and without some help, won't be able to drain it all.

 

Additionally, to keep DS from having another bout with strep, we reorganized our family eating habits and abandoned certain household chemicals in order to help his body get stronger. I began cleaning with just vingear, baking soda, and castille soap (olive oil based soap...Dr. Bronners brand purchased from Target) with essential oils such as peppermint, lavender, or citrus. For nearly a full year, he did not get to eat anything with sugar (some studies show that while digesting cane sugar, white blood cell counts drop significantly) and we eliminated high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils from the cupboards. We've maintained these eating habits even though ds is now healthy and we feel better. Although, dh could never go too long without something with sugar but definitely, our consumption rates of that are far lower than before ds got sick.

 

Everyone felt better and healthier. DS never got strep again which just amazed the pediatrician who was just certain he would have it at least once a year for most of his childhood. None of us have had it.

 

That said, I second the recommendation for a shot of pennicilan. Oral antibiotics are not absorbed as well. There is quite a lot of doseage that is waste and excreted through the urine. The direct delivery method gets more into the blood stream which is where it needs to be. As a matter of fact, there is so much oral med excreted this way that city water supplies are now testing scarily positive for a number of pharmaceuticals because city filtration systems are not set up to remove the tiny size molecules of most medications.

 

I hope she gets well soon.

 

Faith

[Jean in Newcastle]

Stephanie - I hope you don't mind that I'm listening in to all the advice being given to you. I'm on week 5 of antibiotics for pneumonia (week 8 of being constantly sick with upper respiratory stuff). My immune system is so wiped out.

[BikeBookBread]

Stephanie - I hope you don't mind that I'm listening in to all the advice being given to you. I'm on week 5 of antibiotics for pneumonia (week 8 of being constantly sick with upper respiratory stuff). My immune system is so wiped out.

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

It's so tiring dealing, isn't it? A year ago spring, i was on antibiotic after antibiotic for a recurrent bacterial and sinus infection. i was exhausted, and my stomach was shot for months... I totally understand.

[StephanieZ]

Did they culture her to choose an appropriate abx? If you are having "bounce back" infections (within a couple weeks), it suggests that the strain is resistant to whatever abx was previously used. Or, that you didn't complete the abx, or that she is reinfecting from a toothbrush or other source.

 

I learned the hard way to insist on a culture and sensitivity being done for all infections. It needs to be taken before ABX are started. I INSIST on every infection having a C&S done before taking the first dose of abx. (The results won't be back for a few days. . . when they are back, the DR will call you to change the ABX if the first one chosen is not one the strain is sensistive to.)

 

Also, be sure to follow hygeine rules. . . throwing out toothbrushes after a few days on ABX, washing all linens in hot water/dryer frequently while on ABX, cleaning surfaces thoroughly, putting any drinking cups around the bathroom or bedroom through the dishwasher daily, etc.

 

I've also learned to take ALL the kids in for throat cultures when one has strep. One time only one kid had symptoms -- stomach pain and fever only -- but all three kids had strep!!

 

FWIW, if your doctor has treated multiple bouts of strep within a few months (or UTI, or other bacterial infections) and is not doing C&S at the representation, I would find a new doctor. It's (very common) malpractice, IMHO.

 

HTH

[goldberry]

Went through this with DD when she was 5.

 

After a year of strep and multiple rounds of antibiotics her body was so beaten down she couldn't fight off anything. She even had a weird immune response called HSP.

 

To summarize what we used that many others have mentioned:

 

1. Test all family members

2. Super clean the house and throw out all toothbrushes.

3. Have kid retested to make sure its gone

4. We used probiotics, and garlic, which is similar to a low grade penicillin. I kept her on both for about a year. (Love love elderberry, but my understanding was elderberry is primarily antiviral, while strep is bacterial.)

5. Kept her home from school for about 2 weeks, during which time I totally babied her body....fresh fruit juice from the juicer every morning, all vitamins, healthy foods, no stress, no extra physical activity. She needed time to regroup and rebuild. She was so beaten down.

 

After that...she hasn't had strep since. We were prepared if she had one more round the tonsils were coming out. But it never happened. She is 11 now.

 

And yes, I think some people are susceptible and some not. The whole time she was sick, I would have her with me in my bed and her coughing in my face, etc....i never got it. DO NOT recommend letting it run its course - it is too dangerous to take any chances with.

Edited August 2, 2010 by coloradoperkins

[gaillardia]

Try cutting out dairy products. We haven't had strep in our family in years, and most of us stopped drinking cow milk. A friend of mine had strep in her home continually, two kids, no pets and she was a fanatic about cleaning. They cut regular dairy products from their diets. No strep in quite some time.